PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Dan Ruska (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Piotr Karpinov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ruska
vs
Karpinov

170 cm
21
166 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

179 cm
21
161 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Knockout power

Deadly Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dan Ruska!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Piotr Karpinov!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Dmitry Maklakov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ruska forces Karpinov back against the cage and clinches.
Ruska avoiding damage as Karpinov throws knees to the body.
Good body shot from Ruska.
Karpinov tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ruska smiles and moves away.
Karpinov throws a head kick but Ruska moves out of range.

Ruska gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ruska digs a right hand into Karpinov's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Karpinov's gas tank.
Karpinov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Karpinov misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ruska.
Ruska lands a body punch in the clinch.
Karpinov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Karpinov throws an elbow that misses.
Karpinov is trying to break the clinch but Ruska has him pressed against the cage.
Karpinov misses with a knee strike.
Ruska avoids the elbow strike from Karpinov, against the cage.
Ruska dodges an elbow strike from Karpinov.
Ruska blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Karpinov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ruska has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Ruska has picked Karpinov up - he's going for a ride! Ruska dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Ruska sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Karpinov tries to roll over but Ruska keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Karpinov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ruska passes to side control.
Ruska scoring with punches from side control.
Karpinov is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Karpinov is looking to reverse the position.

Ruska working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Ruska in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Karpinov taking punishment in the form of punches.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Ruska working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruska lands a few punches from side control.
Ruska wants to control but Karpinov is keeping him busy.

Ruska is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Karpinov knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Karpinov throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.
Karpinov can't do much from the bottom here.
Ruska has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Ruska tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Karpinov takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruska tries to move to mount but Karpinov blocks the move with his legs.
Karpinov wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.
Karpinov wants to control but Ruska postures up.

Ruska goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Karpinov has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Ruska but great work by Karpinov.
Ruska sneaks back into half guard.
Karpinov is trying to control the action in half guard but Ruska is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Karpinov is looking for a kimura but Ruska is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Karpinov to get the leverage.

Karpinov is working for a kimura but Ruska is defending it quite comfortably.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Karpinov winds up and cracks Ruska with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Karpinov tries to stand and escape but Ruska is controlling the position.

Karpinov looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Karpinov looks gassed!

Ruska is looking to sinch up a gullotine here but Karpinov pulls his head out easily.
Ruska is pressing down on Karpinov's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Karpinov thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Ruska working for a triangle but Karpinov defends it easily.
Ruska controls Karpinov momentarily but Karpinov frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Ruska dominated that round.
That's time! Ruska's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ruska instigates a clinch.
Karpinov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Karpinov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Ruska gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Ruska unloads a knee to the mid-section. Karpinov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Ruska manages to break the clinch.
Karpinov lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Karpinov throws a head kick that misses.
Karpinov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Karpinov misses with a head kick.
Karpinov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ruska shoots in but Karpinov avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Dan Ruska seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Karpinov throws a head kick but Ruska moves out of range.
Ruska throws a combination that misses
and Karpinov counters with a nice leg kick.
Karpinov has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Karpinov there as he acknowledges the shot.

Ruska drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Ruska working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruska wants to control but Karpinov is keeping him busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Ruska is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Karpinov has escaped the position, nice work there.
Karpinov is looking for a sweep.
Karpinov sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Karpinov is looking to escape.
Ruska works his foot free and advances to mount.
Karpinov is working to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Karpinov is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Ruska scoring with strikes but Karpinov is staying in there.
Karpinov is trying to escape the mount.

Ruska with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Karpinov is looking to get to half guard.

Ruska wants to finish this one by submission but Karpinov is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Ruska.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karpinov is wriggling around trying to escape.
Ruska takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Karpinov wants to hold on but Ruska pushes him away.
Karpinov tries to reverse the position but Ruska maintains control.
Ruska takes his opponent's back. Perhaps a chance to lock up a rear naked choke here.
Ruska trying to control momentarily.

Ruska is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Karpinov trying to control the action but Ruska just sinks the hooks in.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruska is hanging on to Karpinov's back as he tries to escape.
Karpinov looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Karpinov defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Ruska trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Karpinov tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Ruska prevents Karpinov from getting the reversal.
Dan Ruska overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Ruska dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Karpinov drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Ruska closes the distance and clinches up with Karpinov, looking for a takedown. Ruska pushes Karpinov against the cage but Karpinov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Ruska shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Ruska gets the takedown into side control.
Karpinov tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Ruska wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Karpinov is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Ruska is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Ruska can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Karpinov is looking to escape.
Karpinov tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ruska postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Karpinov looks a forlorn figure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karpinov is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Karpinov tries to lock up and control but Ruska gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
A nice elbow there by Ruska.
Karpinov sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Ruska slips a nice elbow through Karpinov's hands, connecting with Karpinov's forehead.
Well, if Ruska is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

Karpinov looking for subs from the bottom but Ruska mounts him!
Ruska content just to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karpinov manages to regain half guard. Good work.

Ruska looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Karpinov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Karpinov wants to improve his position but Ruska is controlling well.
Ruska is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ruska is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Karpinov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ruska is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Karpinov tries to get to full guard but Ruska has control of the leg.
Karpinov wants to control but Ruska is keeping busy.
Karpinov tries to kick Ruska off but Ruska keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Ruska takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ruska seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Karpinov is looking for a sweep. Ruska is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ruska is trying to control. Karpinov wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Ruska seems to be looking for submissions.

Ruska is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Karpinov sees it coming and defends easily.
Karpinov is staying active underneath Ruska, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Karpinov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Piotr Karpinov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Ruska wants to work for an arm triangle but Karpinov is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dan Ruska showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ruska, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dan Ruska!